The A's still have to reach a contract agreement with the 29-year-old Iwakuma (considered second only to Yu Darvish among current Japanese pitchers). But they obviously felt confident enough that they will to part with Mazzaro, still leaving them with an enviable group of young starting pitchers (Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden are all 27 or younger).

The A's now seem an even more likely landing spot for free agent DH Hideki Matsui.

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